Every end is a new beginning

Once a quarter I plan a reflection day to look back, check the current status and more importantly look forward and think about my career, wishes and what could be next.

3 years ago this resulted in the great opportunity to become part of the EMEA Global Black Belt IoT team with a focus on the 3 topics that I was looking for: IoT (Internet of Things), International, Customer focus with partner alignment.

I really enjoyed this IoT journey with customers, partners and colleagues in the EMEA region. It felt taking a paid MBA course including German language education (Danke sehr Stefanie Grois). However within the 17 years in Microsoft I learned that 'Nothing is constant, but change'. Back in July 2022 Microsoft Corp decided to graduate the Global GBB IoT team to the subsidiaries.

Hit and Refresh

I used the summer to reflect and start thinking about what could be next. As I am treated very well by Microsoft in the past years I was not looking outside and with so much innovation in the company there are plenty of opportunities to think about. Check for example the 91 available jobs only with location The Netherlands Search results | Find available job openings at Microsoft.

After a number of conversations I am happy to announce that I start this week in the EMEA Global Black Belt (GBB) team Cross Solutions (XSA). This is a complete new dedicated Global team helping our customers leverage the totality of the Microsoft Cloud (Modern Work, Azure, Digital & App Innovation, Data/AI and Business Applications) by building and delivering solutions that closely align to their business and industry challenges.

Learnings and experiences

Finding a new role is an interesting process, so I want to share my lessons learned and experiences in finding this new opportunity:

• Start finding out what really makes you tick and also what you do not like. Like a sculpture: “The sculpture is already in there, you just need to take away the rest…”
• Plan a reflection day once a quarter to look back and define goals for the future.
• Define your wish list and start your ‘sales journey’
• Don’t get distracted when doors are staying closed, because other doors will open in the future.
• Celebrate when you get the job and thank your hiring manager. Marcos Santos: Thanks for hiring me twice!
• Prepare for the new job. Good reading advice of my previous mentor Surya Ramkumar: The First 90 Days, Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Michael Watkins

Thank you and hello

I want to thank the EMEA customers, partners and colleagues I worked with during the IoT journey that helped me growing both in Personal and Professional life.

Hello #XSAGBB

Warm regards,

Rudy